Google Building Brand New Android Camera App

Google’s camera app has long been criticized as, perhaps, one of the weaker points of Android. Most phone makers, for example, make their own tweaks to the user interface and, as of recently, we’ve even seen manufacturers like HTC add additional hardware to improve the camera experience. Google is apparently aware that its camera software may be a bit of a weak spot, and according to Engadgetthe company is working on a major update.

Google is apparently going to allow developers to create third-party filters for the camera, so that users can change the effects right from the app itself without having to open a third-party solution. Also among the features in the update is a “100-percent no-crop viewfinder,” Engadget said, which will allow you to see the entire shot on your screen as you’re taking it. Nokia, HTC and Sony have recently introduced software, in HTC’s case hardware and software, that allows you to blur certain parts of the photo to add a DSLR bokeh effect. Google is apparently working on a “lens blur” filter that will create the same kind of effects on all Android 4.4.x+ devices, presumably only using software.

The good news? Apparently Google isn’t going to wait until Android 4.4.3 or another major update to get this out to customers. Instead, it will release an update inside Google Play separately, so that everyone can download it at the same time, and so that end-users don’t need to wait for individual carrier approvals. Engadget did not say when the update will be available.